New Delhi:
Residents of Delhi will have to pay a huge price for the development work carried out for the Commonwealth Games, claims a study conducted by an NGO.
According to the study conducted by Hazard Centre, "within the next 25 to 30 years, each resident of the city will have to pay a debt in form of increased prices of land, basic commodities and petrol."
The consequences of mega events are years of locked-up investments, low returns and long term debts - all of which have to be eventually paid by the citizens through increased taxes, prices and cesses, the report claimed.
Prices of land, housing and rent rates shoot up sharply along with increase in the average cost of living due to hike in prices of transportation, food and basic commodities, the report titled 'Heritage Games' said.
It said cities hosting large-scale events like Olympics, World Cup and Commonwealth Games have plunged into huge debts after suffering losses and attributed the economic crisis in Greece to its 16,600-million dollar "adventure" of Athens Olympics six years ago.
Mexico, Seoul, Barcelona and Sydney are among cities that have incurred huge losses after hosting mega sports events, it said.
The report claimed that the costs of most Games projects have tripled and has even gone up by 40 times in certain cases in the four years between 2006 and 2010.